Price explosion on the railways Public transport is becoming significantly more expensive than cars
New calculations by the price watchdog show: The prices for public transport have risen significantly more than the cost of car transportation over the last 35 years.
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- Public transport prices are rising faster than car costs.
- Price watchdog Stefan Meierhans criticizes the lack of incentives to switch to public transport.
- Rising public transport costs due to higher investments and personnel costs are a burden on the industry.
- The financing of regional transport must remain fair in order to prevent price increases.
The gap between the cost of public transport and the cost of private transport is constantly growing. Price watchdog Stefan Meierhans sharply criticized this development to SRF.
From 1990 to 2013, driving became increasingly cheaper due to falling fuel prices and more affordable vehicles. At the same time, prices for public transport rose significantly - a trend that has continued to intensify in recent years.
According to Stefan Meierhans, this creates the wrong incentives: "There is an incentive to use the car instead of switching to public transport. This undermines the government's goal of encouraging more people to use public transport."
Public transport industry faces challenges
However, Martin Schonger, professor of economics at the University of Lucerne, puts the increased costs in the public transport sector into perspective. "Public transport offers much more today than it did in 1990, and that comes at a price," he explains. Added to this are rising personnel costs and service expenses that are not incurred in private transport.
The industry is facing various challenges: Population growth requires additional capacity and the decarbonization of bus fleets is leading to considerable investment. In addition, the costs of energy, salaries and replacement investments are rising, which further increases the pressure on transport companies.
One example is BLT, which recently purchased 25 new streetcars to replace its 40-year-old vehicles for 125 million Swiss francs, financed by the cantons of Baselland, Basel-Stadt, Solothurn and the Federal Office of Transport. Frédéric Monard, Managing Director of BLT, assures that this purchase will not affect ticket prices.
More customers to help finance the offer
"My expectation is that we will maintain the current price level and not raise it any further," says Meierhans. However, he fears that the ongoing public transport expansion projects could lead to additional costs that will ultimately be passed on to customers. For him, one thing is certain: "The price increase must be stopped."
Currently, regional passenger transport is financed equally by passengers and those who order it, i.e. the federal government and the cantons. According to the Association of Public Transport, this division has proved its worth.
Association Director Ueli Stückelberger emphasizes: "We want to expand services without driving up prices. The aim is to attract more customers who will co-finance part of the expanded service, and the federal government and cantons should also do their bit." Good public transport does not come for free.
